Humanitarian Aid: Jessica Alexander

Jessica Alexander: A common refrain among humanitarian aid workers, once you get to know them and they let their guard down, is "We can't save everyone." Jessica Alexander starts out more hopeful than that, only to find herself getting sucked into the same cynical trap as so many others in the field. Her journey is chronicled in "Chasing Chaos: My Decade in and out of Humanitarian Aid," an enlightening but uneven memoir, according to Times Colonist. Alexander is quite good at pointing out the many challenges faced by aid workers, such as the danger that their efforts can become a permanent fixture. The idea that many people in a poor country pretend to be refugees because the camps have better infrastructure and offer more resources than their existing village is deeply disturbing and "Chasing Chaos: My Decade in and out of Humanitarian Aid" Broadway Books, by Jessica Alexander Alexander writes in an easy, conversational manner. The result is the type of book that can be read in an afternoon. In some ways, this is good it's more likely to keep the interest of people who are otherwise unfamiliar with the world of humanitarian aid, and there is a great deal in it that will be eye-opening to such readers. In that sense, Alexander has made a helpful contribution. But for those who know about the aid sector, the book isn't particularly meaty, nor does it reveal much that isn't known. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.